Notes From Day 8 Of Spring Ball

CHESTNUT HILL - Day 8. Getting right into it...

-No pads for the first time in a few practices since the team went pretty live on Saturday.

-8:38 QB's in, 8:47 RB's and WR's, OL and TE's in at 8:48. Whole team entered going through a side door to Fish with coaches whacking them with arm pads and then immediately having to get over 3 agility bags. LB's, DL and DB's in at 8:52.

-Small group of recruits on hand with a couple coaches after Saturday's massive attendance. Great catching up with Taunton head coach Brad Sidwell who was teammates with O'Brien at Brown. Sidwell is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet and a damn good coach.

-9:12-9:45 was the usual routine. Walkthrough stuff for O and D, some light 11-on-11 walkthrough, stretch, ball security drills and an indy period. I stuck down with the defense for the full period for the first time and when you really stand near them there are some big boys on this team. Then again, everyone is big to my short ass. DL worked on block shedding & tackling, while DB''s and LB's worked on footwork.

-Offense worked on route concepts with 3 or 4 guys at 3/4 speed while DL and OL went indy a bit more. Jalen Cheek would have killed Bond on a crosser to start things off. Nice grab from Matt Ragan - a nice box out against Daveon Crouch. Dino hauled in a deep ball over Amari Jackson and then gave him a 'get off me' type gesture. Dime from Grayson James. That connection just keeps showing up in spring camp.

-First bit of team at 10. Crosser to Skeete, tipped ball by Quintayvious Hutchins and picked by Crouch. Both of those guys keep showing up pretty routinely too. Short run from Kye after that, 1's out.

-James screen to Jayden McGowan, short run from Jordan McDonald, short catch outside for McGowan.

-1's back in, TC dump off to Ward, would-be sack for Okpala (I think), TC scramble.

-One more quick 3-play set for the 2's, nothing crazy, on to some walkthrough and punt stuff until 10:20.

-Got some 7-on-7 started with a big jump ball grab for Bradley deep down the sideline over (I think) Tucker. Dart slant to Bond from TC early on too. James in, diving PBU on the sideline for Sione Hala against Ward, really impressive play. James also had a great ball to Dino on a deep-ish corner.

-Another dart of a throw from TC on a slant to Morales and another to Bradley. Jacobee Robinson hit Ragan outside for a nice diving catch and Cheek dropped a pick late.

-Third down team work for the next 10 minutes or so. TC fumbles early and Horsely recovers, pretty sure he was 'strip sacked' but couldn't see by who. Short gainers to Ward and Bradley.

-Dino continued his big day with James throwing a 25-ish yard ball down the middle a bit high, forcing Tomlin to leap up and grab it in the middle of 3 defenders. Matt Reueve capped off the period with a drop-in-the-bucket throw to RB Anthony Fuccillo down the sideline that drew a huge cheer from the players.

-Ofense worked a few minutes coming out of its own end zone, mostly run related. After that the ball was at the O's 25 and tempo was stressed. TC does a good job getting it out quick to Morales and Bond. Incomplete pass and then Bond makes a nice adjustment onn a bit of an under throw for a leaping grab.

-Offense stagnant this time with James, nothing much going with Reuve here either. Very brief period.

-Punt work again. While it's still very early and I by no means am a punting expert, it feels like Ivan Zivenko has the strongest leg.

-One drive each for the 1's, 2's and 3's with the ball at the 10. TC rollout incomplete, TD pass to Morales, interception on a jump ball for (I think) Tucker. Could have been Jackson though, again, short guy couldn't see completely. Two incompletions and a rushing TD for James, two short runs for Fuccillio and McDonald with Reuve in. PBU for Isaiah Farris on a jump ball for Montrell Wade.

-Situational work to end the day before sprints. Ball at the O's own 25, 1:10 left and a timeout. Need a FG...Two quick gainers to Ward, incomplete, another grab for Ward, slant for Bradley just over midfield with 17 seconds left. Huge high-point PBU for Bugg Jones on Bradley in the end zone on a deep ball shot. Eventually, Liam Connor drilled a 50-yarder to end the drive.

-James' drive in the same scenario went scramble, PBU for Carter Davis on Reed Harris deep, batted ball for Owen Stoudmire at the LOS, incomplete pass intended for Franklin.

-Sprints at 11:10.

Back to work on Wednesday for the Eagles.